Free Body Diagrams

What They Are

• Free body diagrams isolate all the forces acting on a particular object
• For example a climber: forces act in the ropes, on the climber and on the cliff face
• You can isolate key forces, in this case, the climber's weight, the tension in the rope and the normal contact force between them and the cliff face

Important Forces

• Weight is the gravitational force acting on an object through its centre of mass
• Friction is the force that arises when 2 surfaces rub against eachother
• Drag is the resistive force on an object travelling through a fluid e.g. air or water
• Tension is the force within a stretched rope or cable
• Upthrust is an upward buoyancy force acting…